XTRAMARINE conceived a new catamaran. They needed support to finetune the business plan accordingly the relevant circular strategies. The feasibility study allowed to explore in detail the different opportunities to adopt circular economy strategies having a clearer overview on what has a real ecological impact.
SECTOR
Maritime
CHALLENGE
XTRAMARINE has conceived XFUN (Xtramarine Flexible Ultralight Navigation unit), a new concept for sustainable mobility using electric propulsion. Its inflatable hull is easy to transport by car, it can be used by a family of 4, and it is reconfigurable into several floating vehicles. It is unique inflatable catamaran (ready in 3 minutes from car to sea) that provides a floating deck suitable for different use cases, from mobility, to port maintenance, to leisure. XTRAMARINE needed to prioritize between several circular strategies investigating changes in several axes in the production chain, product life extension and recycle of components. The outcome of the feasibility was necessary to finetune the business plan accordingly and to the relevant priorities.
RESULTS
The feasibility study has allowed to explore in detail the different opportunities to adopt circular economy strategies having a clearer overview on what has a real ecological impact.
SOLUTION
Thanks to Up2Circ project the supported action XFUN Circular Feasibility has allowed to explore in detail the different opportunities to adopt circular economy strategies having a clearer overview on what has a real ecological impact guided by an important player in eco- design in France (the Pôle éco-conception www.eco-conception.fr). The major result of this comprehensive analysis is the definition of a business plan to move from a linear model (production, sale on the market, end of life) to a more circular model of renting XTRAMARINE products, which is very ambitious in terms of business organisation and change management, but very promising from an environmental and economic point of view.
IMPACT
The outcome of the XFUN Circular Feasibility can be articulated according to the following four main axis: – The circularity: From the product point of view, the project has contributed to a complete rethinking of several aspects of the product. Besides this product-related improvement, the other major outcome towards improved circularity has been the development of a brand new commercial model. – The desirability: Through the project we have acquired a clear conscience about circular economy and this knowledge has been reflected within the marketing message and use as one of the key marketing leverage towards the customers. The feedback from first potential customers, when hearing a commercial proposition that puts forward circular economy, is extremely encouraging. – The feasibility: All technical aspects related to improved product strategy have been validated throughout the project and already embedded as part of the production process. – The viability: All the aforementioned aspects have been financially assessed and brought to the development of a new business model based on recurring revenues, something that is particularly interesting from a financial point of view.
KEY TAKEAWAY
The eco-design analysis has been central in focusing on several tracks to obtain positive environmental impacts, in particular the activity has provided the significant outcome of 13 tracks with various impacts from an environmental point of view, and different degrees of difficulty of realisation, that will guide the future actions of XTRAMARINE. In particular, practical actions to realise in short, middle, and long term, according to the respective organisational and environmental impacts. Finally, the Up2Circ feasibility study offered the chance to set the hypotheses of the implementation of a service model that has an obvious interesting economic value, apart from a clear ecological impact. This activity could lead to a rather significant change in XTRAMARINE business model, notably moving from the linear model made of production, sale, end-of-life phases, to a product as a service model, in line with a circular economy strategy.